Countless aristocrats and saints have been buried in the Cemetery of Aden. The tombstone that Martien touched was hidden in a small area of the forest, surrounded by tall trees thick with needles. A few years ago, when Martien first visited this grave, he had the impression that the cemetery was a clean and spacious place. However, he realized that this was only due to its large scale.

"The only grave keepers in this place are those freakish creatures."

Martien and his men held their collective breath as a huge creature whose upper body was that of a female human and lower body was that of a snake slithered away silently. They did not move until the beast completely disappeared from sight. The keepers of this graveyard, unpaid and sleepless, burned with equal hostility toward unfortunate grave robbers and innocent visitors alike. They infested this place around the time when the war between Elmore and Aden broke out. Aden sent as many soldiers as possible, neglecting this vast graveyard. Near the war's end, some argued that the safety of the cemetery should be maintained. However, it was too vast. In order to completely drive the monsters from the cemetery, they would need enough manpower to build a castle. So, a plan for maintaining the cemetery was pushed down the list of priorities. By the time the war had ended, the plan itself was lost.

Once all traces of other creatures had completely disappeared, Martien's attention was again drawn to the small tombstone. "I wonder what kind of person is buried here? Surely, they must have been highly distinguished. Only such persons could be buried in this cemetery." But they could not have been a member of the royal family. A separate section was designated for those of the royal family, and it was still completely preserved. So they must have been someone dignified enough to have their name mentioned in the annals of history. But Martien knew nothing about this. Those who live in the Age of Splendor have no interest in such matters.

Martien was strangely relieved by the thought that the passing of time fades a person's life over time. He continued to caress the tombstone, trying hard to determine why he had such sentiments.

"Are you sad? You must have been a great person who was willing to sacrifice yourself. But now nobody remembers you."

Suddenly, the tombstone opened its eyes and then its mouth.

"What kind of foolish talk is that, you idiot? I'm dead. Why would I need to bother with such trivial matters?"

"But those who buried you here must have erected this tombstone so they could remember you."

"Can you even guess how much time has passed since the gods created this world? A person's lifespan passes in the blink of an eye. Even were my name written in books, how long do you think my memory would last?"

"You must have been a great person. That's why you are at rest here."

"Perhaps I was, or maybe not. There are no absolutes for greatness."

"Did you not try to live an honorable life, so you could be buried in a grand cemetery like this? Although, it has since turned to ruins."

"Who would think such depressing thoughts while they're alive?"

"Only those who devoted their lives to accomplish something."

"You are confusing consequences with purposes."

"You mean, each of us has our own purpose?"

"That's a trite way of putting it."

"I could die today or tomorrow. What do you think I should do?"

"Aha! Finally, you are getting to the point."

"Answer me!"

"Haven't you been thinking about this all along? You should already know. I'm just a reflection of your mind. Let us take leave of each other. Your men are calling you."

"Brother! Shouldn't we get going?"

Martien and his men moved stealthily through the graveyard, using moonlight as their only guide. They loaded the stolen goods they had collected from the graveyard into their wagon and departed. When they were far away from the cemetery, one of the three wagons headed south. One wagon headed north, and the last one, carrying Martien, headed directly toward the eastern castle gate of Aden. When they arrived in the city, Martien and his men were to be paid some compensation from his employer. If everything went as planned, he would divide his share of the rewards and pay his men, for they had need of food and clothing.

"This can't be…"

The wagon stopped suddenly. Inside the wagon, Martien started to laugh aloud. Soon, the sound of weapons and armor clashing mingled with the sound of angry voices.

"Stop!" He shouted at the top of his lungs from inside the wagon. The fighting suddenly stopped. Martien was overwhelmed by a feeling of satisfaction and excitement. He concentrated to hear what was happening outside. No one was actually attending to the wagon. The top of the wagon was pulled up and one of the men looked inside. Within the darkness of the wagon, someone was sitting on a holy ark.

Martien yelled at someone outside of the wagon, "I am Martien, owner of the South Sea Store! Let's have a talk!"

There was no response. Martien's heart pounded in his chest. His temples throbbed. In the midst of the deafening silence, someone snickered.

"This is getting interesting. I am Staris, from the 'Association of People Concerned About the Forest'."

Martien stood up from the holy ark. He walked to the back of the wagon and lifted the flap to look around. When his subordinates saw him, they brightened up greatly. He asked if everybody was okay, and they slowly nodded their heads. A female Dark Elf's cat-like, shiny eyes glared at him fiercely. A young male Dark Elf stood next to her.

"Staris?"

The Dark Elf nodded, with a faint smile on his face. Martien gestured for the Dark Elf to approach him.

"Why don't you come inside?"

The Dark Elf lightly strode into the wagon. Martien's men remained outside the wagon, unsettled by this development. "Brother…" They looked at Martien with desperate eyes, at a loss for words.

"Take it easy, guys. Take it easy!"

A moment later, Martien and Staris faced each other. Martien sat atop the holy ark while Staris stood in front of him. His gaze rested upon the treasure of the Ancient Empire, upon which Martien sat. Martien lit a lamp that hung inside the wagon and observed the Dark Elf's appearance.

"Your face… I remember you from somewhere."

"I worked at the South Sea Store some time ago. Your pay was cheap. Dirt cheap."

"What did you expect? When business is meager, so is the pay. There was nothing I could do about it. Anyway, why did you pick this wagon? You didn't happen to roll dice to decide, did you?"

"If I tell you that I also sent people to the other wagons, would that make you feel better?"

"I can always check to find out. But I get the feeling this is not the case. Why don't you tell me, honestly?"

Martien had devised a trap when he was assigned to move the holy ark from the cemetery to another location. He came up with the idea to prepare a fake wagon as bait, in case a scenario like this were to take place. He discussed his plan with his employer, but did not disclose it to anyone else. Although the details of the plan had changed many times, one thing that did not change was placing the holy ark in the third wagon.

"Was I deceived?" The Dark Elf asked incredulously. "So, this holy ark is a fake?"

Martien was overcome with the taste of victory, which he had not felt for a long time. Rubbing his hands together, he tried to calm himself enough to speak. He knew that his next move was extremely crucial. "Who sent you here?"

"A highly distinguished person in Giran. Shall I say more?"

This was an unexpected answer. The Dark Elf might be lying to him. He could easily have come up with some other name. While Martien considered various possibilities, the Dark Elf spoke.

"Some time ago, a messenger from a society went to see Hierarch Asterios. You don't need to know the reason for this. But the society was a sort of association in which distinguished people gather to promote something more than just friendship."

Martien smiled bitterly as he stood up, and kicked the holy ark. He cursed at someone who was not there. The Dark Elf just stood there with his arms folded during this outburst. "If the holy ark is indeed a fake, why should I care if it's broken to bits and pieces?"

"Can I tell you a secret?" Martien breathed heavily and looked around. An old hammer caught his attention. When the Dark Elf saw Martien heaving the hammer on his shoulder, he tilted his head with a puzzled look. Martien gave him a broad grin and brought the hammer down upon the holy ark with all his might. Although it sounded like something was being smashed, the ark did not even show a scratch. But the floor was broken beneath it. Martien continued grinning broadly at the Dark Elf, showing all of his teeth. "Oh, this is the real one, all right…"

A little later, Martien and Staris exited the wagon. The gangs from both sides looked at them quizzically. Martien called over his subordinates to make sure they weren't badly hurt.

Although some of them had fractured arms or legs, and some had even been struck by arrows, but none were fatally wounded. After whispering a few words to the Dark Elf, Martien left with his men. He uttered some randomly contrived phrases loudly, such as "Aaarrgh… they're too strong!" "We're no match for them!" and "Let's get out of here!"

Staris left with a few of his men, to the outskirts of the graveyard. In a small forest located at the northwestern section of the Forbidden Gateway, he found a tombstone, deserted long ago. With the tip of his boot, he pushed aside the soil in front of the tombstone.

The "Association" obtained the key to the holy ark.